In a seaside town in 1987, a shy young woman and an outgoing party girl strike up a powerful bond that seems to defy the laws of space and time. San Junipero is the fourth episode of the third season. It was written by Charlie Brooker, and was released on October 20, 2016.
Overview
In 1987, a shy young woman, Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis), visits San Junipero for the first time. One of the first people she sees is Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) a vivacious party girl trying to lose Wes, a man she had a fling with. Kelly uses Yorkie to ditch Wes, pretending they are old friends, and then compliments her "authentic" look and invites her to dance. Embarrassed to be seen flirting with Kelly, Yorkie runs away. When Kelly comes after her and propositions her for sex, Yorkie is intimidated, tells Kelly she is engaged, and leaves.
The following week Yorkie tries to dress up before settling on similar clothes to the week before. She again spots Kelly, this time flirting with a different man, and follows her into the bathroom. The two kiss and then go to Kelly's bungalow where they have sex and Yorkie reveals it was the first time she had sex with anyone, male or female. At midnight they both disappear.
The following week Yorkie searches for, but cannot find, Kelly. Spotting Wes, Yorkie asks him where she is, but he tells her he doesn't know although he's seen Kelly in the 90s and the early 00s occasionally. Yorkie then spends the following weeks travelling to those times, searching for Kelly. She eventually finds her in 2002 playing Dance Dance Revolution. Kelly brushes her off and Yorkie is hurt and leaves. A frustrated Kelly punches a mirror, only for the glass to instantly repair itself. Feeling bad, Kelly goes back and finds Yorkie. She confesses that in reality she is dying and that she only meant to have fun and not have a connection while in San Junipero. The two sleep together again and Kelly tells Yorkie she wants to meet her in real life. Yorkie begs her not to, but after some persuasion she tells Kelly her location.
In the real world, the consciousnesses of the dead are uploaded into a virtual reality system, where they can live in San Junipero as their younger selves forever. Living people can visit San Junipero for a trial period, but are limited to 5 hours a week. An aged Kelly (Denise Burse) goes to visit Yorkie and discovers that she is a comatose elderly woman living in an assisted living facility. She became incapacitated over forty years earlier following a car accident after she told her deeply religious parents that she was gay. She tried out San Junipero's trial period and is now ready to be euthanized and spend her afterlife in the virtual reality system. Because her family has religious objections to signing the papers allowing her to die, she plans on marrying Greg, her nurse, so that he may legally override their authority. Not wanting Yorkie to marry someone she doesn't love, Kelly enters San Junipero and proposes to Yorkie who enthusiastically accepts. They marry and Kelly authorizes Yorkie's euthanasia.
Yorkie is happy in San Junipero but frustrated that Kelly is only able to join her for 5 hours once a week. She asks Kelly to join her in the afterlife but Kelly is angered as she was married to a man she loved previously for 49 years and he did not want to live in San Junipero. Yorkie accuses Kelly's husband of abandoning her, but Kelly reveals that they had a child that died at 39 before the technology of San Junipero was available. Rather than live in San Junipero, Kelly's husband chose to die to be with their child. Though Kelly doesn't believe in an afterlife she decides she wants to die too. Angry with Yorkie, Kelly drives away and purposely crashes her car. Yorkie appears and tries to help her up, but Kelly's weekly time is up and she disappears.
Eventually Kelly's condition in real life worsens. She decides to be euthanised but rather than die she has herself put in San Junipero where she and Yorkie continue to live happily. In the real world, robots maintain the consciousnesses of those that now live permanently in San Junipero in a massive server room.
Cast
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Kelly
- Mackenzie Davis as Yorkie
- Denise Burse as Elder Kelly
- Raymond McAnally as Greg
- Gavin Stenhouse as Wes
- Cheryl Anderson as Laura
- Jackson Bews as Harvey
- Annabel Davis as Elder Yorkie
- Billy Griffin Jr as Davis
- Paul Lawrence Kitson as Barman
- Jeff Marsh as Doctor
| Episodes in "Black Mirror" | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | • The National Anthem • Fifteen Million Merits • The Entire History of You • |
| Season 2 | • Be Right Back • White Bear • The Waldo Moment • |
| Season 3 | • Nosedive • Playtest • Shut Up and Dance • San Junipero • Men Against Fire • Hated in the Nation • |
| Season 4 | • USS Callister • Arkangel • Crocodile • Hang the DJ • Metalhead • Black Museum • |
| Season 5 | • Striking Vipers • Smithereens • Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too • |
| Season 6 | • Joan Is Awful • Loch Henry • Beyond The Sea • Mazey Day • Demon 79 • |
| Specials | • White Christmas • Bandersnatch • |